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1997 Universal Pictures, The Apostle: Opening scene, where Sonny is riding
in the car with his mother. They come upon a car accident. Sonny runs over
to the car where the victims can’t move or be moved. He briefly explains
the gospel and asks if they want him to pray with them so they can receive
Jesus. Although they can hardly move, we see them nod, yes. The police officer
tells him he has to leave. Sonny fights him off long enough to pray. He prays
with them as a tear goes down the face of the boy. He mouths a thank you and
grips the hand of the girl. Sonny runs off singing a song of thanks to the
Lord. Truly this is his life, or so it seems.]
[If the movie clip is used—begin here] Are you that committed
to reaching those who don’t know Jesus? Could you do that kind of thing
if the situation called for it? Let’s promise not to answer those questions
just yet. Let’s hear from God first. [Read Scripture]
This bright journey is full of meaning and purpose. We really
can live every day in light of Jesus. This season of the church year is called
Epiphany. An epiphany is an appearance of a manifestation, especially of a
deity. It means a special moment where something very special becomes visible,
especially God. Feel free to have an epiphany at any time of the year! A sudden
breakthrough that allows you to see God more clearly is always a good thing.
But the season of Epiphany is when we remember how Jesus was revealed to the
world. We remember how light shined through Him. It shined in Israel. It also
shined among the Gentiles. All the peoples of the earth were to be blessed
by Abraham’s seed, not just the home team!
Epiphany is about light. When Jesus is made known, light shines
in the darkness. What happens when you turn the light on at home? Suddenly
you can see! Unless you left your glasses on the nightstand. But then you
can see that you need your glasses! It’s all good! Have you ever been
stuck in the dark? Maybe there was a power outage or you had the washer, dryer,
dishwasher, hair dryer, all three TVs and the compressor going at the same
time! When you are surrounded by total darkness, it feels oppressive. You
want to be able to see. You need some light. But you don’t have light,
so you can’t see.
The truth is that’s where a lot of people live. No, not
in the basement with a fuse blown! They live without spiritual light. There
are people living right now without the hope of Jesus. “Well, yes, Pastor
that’s why we had that special event last fall. We reached out to them,
then.” Today we have to staff children’s church, take up the offering,
write the checks for the bills, plan the next Leadership meeting, and make
sure the teens have enough activities to keep them happy and out of our hair.
And in case we forgot to remind you, you have seven appointments today with
people who have important questions about your last sermon and about their
needs. These are church members, Pastor; these are your first priority. Now,
don’t forget how important they are. In fact, you’re late for
your first meeting now. Get in there and meet!
Jesus was having a week something like that in Mark 1:35-39.
[Read Scripture.] Jesus did the only thing He could to get some perspective.
He got up before everyone else and went to a little meeting of His own. He
spent time with His Heavenly Father in prayer. As He went out to that lonely
place He had appointments and requests and followers on His mind. When He
spent time with the Father, something changed. When He came down from that
mountain, so to speak, He had other people on His mind.
But oh, the disciples had not forgotten what was most important.
What’s most important is to please those people right in front of you.
“Everyone is looking for you, Jesus! Get a move on, Lord we’ve
got your agenda all set for you!” Isn’t that how things get around
the church?
Jesus’ reply is surprising, “Let’s go somewhere
else.” And who hasn’t felt like that sometimes? But it’s
not for the same reason. “Let’s go to the nearby villages, so
I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” Whoa! With a couple
of sentences Jesus decimates church business as usual! He wasn’t just
there for the frozen chosen! Jesus was there for those outside the comfort
zone who needed to know the truth! He still is! Jesus’ light was made
for shining; for shining all over the place!
If there is one person in the entire New Testament who “got”
this, it was the Apostle Paul. In the Scripture we read earlier, Paul gives
us a peek at his emerging lifestyle. It’s an inspiring image of life
lived at full-throttle! You want a purpose-driven life? God’s got one
for you! Paul nails it here! Every day he gives himself fully to reaching
others who don’t know Jesus. At every turn in his life, Paul has a goal
to reach someone specific. And he is detailed about at least four different
types of people he’s reached, some of them overlapping in categories.
All of them are loved by God. God loves the people you know, too. Perhaps
God has prepared you to reach them like nobody else could. Maybe it’s
that neighbor who always waves, but never takes it further. Maybe it’s
the nice lady at the dry cleaners who always seems tired. Maybe it’s
your nephew who is on the edge of life on his own. Maybe it’s the person
you sit by in algebra class. These people need shiny people.
Paul did not roll out of bed in the morning and ask himself
if he felt like being a Christian! Paul began each day praying and planning
how he would help the people in his life take their next steps toward God!
In the words of the Blues Brothers, he was on a mission . . . from God! His
strategy was to become like those he was trying to reach! Now, I don’t
think Paul was being dishonest. He was following Jesus’ example. Jesus
became like us, although He was truly much more than human. It’s a lot
easier to do this when you really pray for someone. When you pray for someone,
God often shows you their heart so you can understand them better. He doesn’t
reveal secrets, but He helps you observe their attitudes and values more clearly.
Paul then adapted his own lifestyle in order to be relevant to them. Paul
took Jesus’ example very seriously!
Some of you are saying, “That’s Paul. I’m
no Apostle!” Well maybe not yet. But neither was Paul when he started
living for Jesus! It took significant life-change for him to live this way.
Before this he was a Jewish religious leader. He was focused on his own career
and on insider religious matters. He was not a risk-taker. He wanted to shut
down anything that appeared new or different. If Paul could go from being
a religious power-broker to a person who became all things to all people that
he might by any means save some, you can change too! You are shiny right now
just because Jesus is in you. The Scriptures are pointing us to a whole shiny
new way of life!
Furthermore, in verses 16-18 we discover this wasn’t Paul’s
idea! It was God’s idea. It’s the way God has always lived every
day! If you want to join God in His major activity in the world, then Paul’s
lifestyle will become your own. But this isn’t a “should, ought,
must” kind of message. God is inviting you to join Him in His favorite
activity: redeeming the lost! God wants you to be in on what He is most passionate
about. That sounds pretty exciting to me! [In the movie clip, Sonny showed
an almost extreme commitment to reaching the vulnerable and lost. Even though
his life was very mixed up in other ways, he understood something important.
He knew there was nothing more important he could be doing than bringing Jesus
to those in need.]
But you do have options. It’s a choice you will make every
day. What will be at the top of your list? The same-old same-old?
Let’s go back to our opening image this morning. Close
your eyes. Imagine you’re in the dark. You’ve been living in the
dark your whole life. You’ve spent so much time bumping into things
that hurt, you’re almost used to it by now. Every now and then there
is a brief flash of light that shows you a whole new reality. You’ve
gotten excited about the possibilities, but you have always settled back down
to the dark realities. You hear about people who live in the light. People
who actually have enough light to see every day of the world! It puts a lump
in your throat to think about it. Every day you wonder if they will come and
share their light with you. Every day that passes reminds you that people
seem a little selfish with that light thing. No one chooses to come, so you
still have to guess about what you keep banging into and why it hurts so much.
But wait, what’s that up ahead? Could my eyes be fooling
me? Is it? Could it be? Yes, it’s light! Someone is carrying a light
into my little world! Oh, the light, how it shines! I can see! I can see!
Thank God I can see! Finally, I can see!
Open your eyes. How could you deny anyone that experience? You
wouldn’t do it on purpose! But you can bring the light on purpose every
day! Will it be that simple with everyone? Well, no. Unfortunately many people
have layers of resistance built up on their soul. But deep down there is a
part of them that wants the light just that much! Everyone wants to meet someone
truly shiny. Do they want to meet you?
Jesus has made it clear He wants to shine to all. Paul has shown us what God can do with a fully surrendered life! What will you show the world by your living? How shiny will you choose to be? Remember you have to have something to share. Stay close to Jesus lest you wander off course trying to help others. I say you’ll be more likely to stay on course if you live shiny. Being shiny is a great way of life. But be careful! It rubs off on other people. Let’s pray.
